AeroSuperBatics Wingwalking Team

For over 30 years, UK-based AeroSuperBatics Wingwalkers have performed demanding aerobatic and close formation flypast routines at speeds of up to 150mph and ‘G’ forces of up to 4G.

The result? Multiple parts within the aircrafts move at high speeds, forcing the pistons to travel up and down 30 to 40 times per second. This generates extremely high temperatures inside the cylinders, putting extreme pressure on the piston engine oil.

For Vic Norman, the Founder of AeroSuperBatics, safety has always been at the heart of his business.

“AeroSuperBatics is all about staying safe and being as careful as possible – it is for that reason we chose Shell. Shell is a best-in-class brand that has the heritage, the technical ability, safety and reliability that gives us absolute confidence in our aircraft and our engines.

"Even when our planes have run for 1,300 hours and are near the end of their lives, our engineers are surprised at the excellent conditions our engines are in – this is good news for us as it ends up costing less on our overhauls.”

Watch the video below to find out how AeroShell lubricants help look after their aircrafts’ engines all year round and why they rely on their protection and performance.

The video focuses on Vic Norman and David Barrell from the AeroSuperBatics WingWalkers and their relationship with AeroShell products.

***

A landscape shot of the airfield appears, above the green field is an overcast sky. Two bright orange AeroSuperBatics planes fly at high speeds close together across the airfield towards the camera in formation, before turning away from each other and flying off the screen. White contrails remain behind them.

***

[Text Displays]

Our products - your trust

The Aerosuperbatic Wingwalking Team

With a graphic of the AeroSuperBatics Wingwalkers logo

***

The camera pans to a shot of Vic Norman, he is wearing a blue shirt paired with a brown leather flying jacket. On his head, Vic is wearing a red AeroShell baseball cap. He is sitting in an armchair facing the camera. In the background of the shot there is various aviation memorabilia.

[Vic Norman]

“In 1986, I realised, having already been in the air show business for five years, that actually no one was doing a great wingwalking act.”

[Text Displays]

Vic Norman

Founder, AeroSuperBatics

***

[Vic Norman]

The shot changes to a close up of the interior of a plane engine.

“In our business, the most important thing of course is safety.”

***

A bright orange plane appears in the sky, flying over green fields, a white contrail following behind it. Positioned on top of the main wing of the aircraft is a female aerobatic performer. She is balanced at a right angle with both legs and one arm in the air.

***

[Vic Norman]

“So, AeroSuperBatics is all about safety. It’s all about being very careful…”

The camera switches to a sequence of shots focusing on two engineers examining an aircraft. Close up shots show an engineer cleaning part of a plane, and another shows an engineer using a screwdriver to make repairs on part of the aircraft. He is wearing blue protective gloves.

An engineer wearing a red baseball cap with an AeroShell logo is shown next to the plane’s propeller. Next, two engineers appear on the screen with their backs to the camera, both are wearing black and orange overalls with red baseball caps. They stand examining the front of the AeroSuperBatics aircrafts, its white and orange propeller clearly visible. A third engineer is working on the propeller partially obscured by the other two engineers.

[Vic Norman]

“…and for that reason, we chose Shell, because Shell is a brand that’s been around a long time and it puts across to me that image of a being a safe brand. Something we can rely on and something I feel safe with.”

*** David Barrell appears on the screen, he is wearing a red Shell Aviation baseball cap and black overalls. In the left hand corner of the shot, the propeller of the AeroSuperBatics aircraft is visible and David Barrel turns towards it, gesturing with his hands to explain his point.

[Text Displays]

David Barrell

Engineer & Pilot, Aerosuperbatics

[David Barrell]

“The importance of the engine oil is the fact that we have all of these moving parts, travelling at high speed, they are all moving very quickly, the pistons are going up and down probably 30 or 40 times per second.”

“The engine oil is under extreme pressure and really high temperature inside the cylinders, and there’s nine of them.”

The camera switches to a shot of an engineer standing on the left-hand side of an aircraft. He opens a bottle of AeroShell Oil with his gloved right hand. A close up shot then shows him pouring the liquid into the aircraft.

[David Barrell]

“We need to rely on the fact that the engine oil will maintain its pressure to the bearings and the moving parts, collect heat, and dissipate the heat through the oil cooler and also keep the inside of the engine clean.”

The next two shots show different angles of the engineer cleaning his utensils after putting AeroShell Oil in the aircraft. The camera then returns to a close up shot of David Barrell, gesturing towards the propeller of the AeroSuperBatics vehicle.

[David Barrell]

“We need to be able to trust that the oil will do that without us having to worry about it.”

***

Another engineer appears on the screen in black overalls. He is holding a hammer, he looks down at the aircraft, examining it. Next a shot of four AeroShell Oil W100 Plus red bottles are shown in a row. This is followed by a shot of an engineer next to the winds of a bright orange AeroSuperBatics aircraft.

***

The camera then returns to a shot of Vic Norman facing the camera.

[Vic Norman]

“Our oil is keeping the internals of that engine in good condition and that’s great because it actually ends up costing us a lot less money on our overhauls. If that wasn't the case and we were using a product that wasn't looking after the inside of the engine and mechanical parts so well, we would need to replace more of those parts.”

The camera pans to shots from two different angles of two engineers working on the propeller of a AeroSuperBatics aircraft. Its bright orange and white paint work creates a striking contrast which attracts the eye.

[Vic Norman]

“I always talk to the engineers and they always give a very good report on the condition of our engines…

***

The shot then returns to Vic Norman, he is sitting down and talking directly to the camera.

[Vic Norman]

“…because even when they’ve done their 1,300 hours, near the end of their lives, the internals of the engine are in really good condition and that can only be because of the oil.”

*** A close up appears showing the propeller of an AeroSuperBatics aircraft. In the background an engineer walks towards the front of the shot.

The camera returns to a shot of David Barrell. In the background of the shot are two AeroSuperBatics planes, their bright orange and white paintwork clearly visible.

[David Barrell]

“We’ve had such a long history and relationship with AeroShell because it is the best engine oil. It’s something that we can put into the aircraft and we don't have to worry about it. We can be safe in the knowledge that it’s going to provide good oil pressure and good heat dissipation properties.”

***

The camera then switches to a shot of two AeroSuperBatics vehicles flying in formation, white contrails behind the planes. Just visible attached to harnesses atop the wings of the separate aircrafts are two wingwalkers. The camera pans right following the aircrafts.

[David Barrell]

“And when we’re flying in formation we have blind trust with everybody in the formation. We’re flying so close together that we have to know that everybody else is going to stay in the positions where they say.”

The camera pans to a shot of two male AeroSuperBatics pilots wearing brown flying jackets. The two men are in conversation with two female AeroSuperBatics performers. In the background a shot of the airfield is visible, showing a large expanse of green grass dotted with trees.

***

[David Barrell]

“It’s a similar thing with AeroShell, we have blind trust in the oil. It’s really important that the oil performs well under extreme conditions because that means that it’s one thing that we don't have to worry about.”

The camera then shows two wingwalkers facing each other talking. One of them is facing the camera and the other has their back to the camera. Both of them are standing to the right of an AeroSuperBatics plane.

The camera returns to a close up shot of David Barrell in the aircraft hangar, two AeroSuperBatics aircrafts behind him. ***

[David Barrell]

“We have lots of other things to worry about – height, speed, where the display line is, where the crowd is, the girls that are on the wing and also flying within 10 feet of each other.”

The camera returns to the shot of the AeroSuperBatics vehicles flying in formation, white contrails behind the planes. Just visible attached to harnesses atop the wings of the separate aircrafts are two wingwalkers. The aircrafts fly off the right-hand side of the screen.

A wide shot of the sky appears, with an AeroSuperBatics aircraft accelerating into the sky off of the left hand corner of the shot, white contrails remain on the screen.

The next shot, taken from an on-board camera shows a close-up of an aerobatic performer, harnessed to the top of the aircraft. The wide lens shot also shows the large green airfield in the background and surrounding countryside.

***

[David Barrell]

“Smoke oil is very important, it’s a major part of our display.”

A graphic appears on the screen of AeroShell Smoke Oil in a large red barrel.

***[David Barrell]

“The way smoke was produced in the past was by producing diesel oil.”

A close up shot shows David Barrell examining an AeroSuperBatics aircraft on the airfield. He places his hand on the aircraft, looking down towards the ground. The camera then switches to a shot of David Barrell examining the plane’s wing.

***

The camera returns to David Barrell in the aircraft hangar.

[David Barrell]

“Diesel oil is carcinogenic, it smells, it’s not very nice and when you're pumping litres and litres of it into the exhaust system it messes the aircraft up, it goes in your hair, it goes on your clothes and it really, really smells.”

The next shot shows David Barrell in the open cockpit of an aircraft showing him with has back to and then facing the camera. He places his large, black helmet onto his head and has a content expression on his face.

***

The camera returns to David Barrell in the aircraft hangar.

[David Barrell]

“Whereas AeroShell Smoke Oil is colourless, it’s odourless, and for us as display pilots it has revolutionised the display world.”

The camera then switches to a shot of two stationary AeroSuperBatics vehicles spaced 10 metres apart. Two AeroSuperBatics performers are attached to harnesses atop the wings of the separate aircrafts.

The next shot shows a bright white and orange AeroSuperBatics being prepared by the AeroSuperBatics team to leave the hangar.

***

[David Barrell]

“When we do a show with AeroShell Smoke Oil the smoke is so dense and white that it actually lasts longer in the air. it would last twice as long as a comparable smoke produced by diesel fuel oil.”

The camera pans to an on-board view of a pilot, sat in the cockpit of an AeroSuperBatics aircraft. All that is visible of the pilot is his black and orange helmet. The aircraft is accelerating into the sky, the green airfield becoming smaller and smaller. As the aircraft accelerates, a white plume of smoke can be seen from the back of the aircraft. The camera returns to David Barrell in the aircraft hangar.

***

The camera returns to a shot of Vic Norman, sat on an armchair. He is wearing a blue shirt, brown leather flying jacket and a red AeroShell baseball cap.

[Vic Norman]

“The reason we use AeroShell as our sole engine oil and smoke oil is not just for its performance - that we can totally rely on.”

A wide high angle shot of the sky appears, with two AeroSuperBatics aircrafts just visible in the far right hand corner of the shot

[Text Displays]

Japan Australia Middle East Europe

[Vic Norman]

“It’s also we that fly all over the world, Japan, Australia, the Middle East, the whole of Europe.”

***

The camera returns to the shot of Vic Norman.

[Vic Norman]

We know that we can always get that product because there’s such a good distribution of AeroShell Oil everywhere we go.”

***

The camera switches between a sequence of shots showing the AeroSuperBatics aircraft flying in the sky above vast green fields. The first shot shows a pilot sat in the cockpit of a plane, a second aerosuperbatic vehicle visible in the left hand corner of the shot. An AeroSuperBatics performer can be seen on the second plane.

The second shot shows an AeroSuperBatics performer suspended from the lower wing of the aircraft, her legs dangling in the air. An on-board camera shot shows a close up of the performer’s legs and the ground far beneath her feet.

The third shot shows two AeroSuperBatics planes flying in formation right across the screen. Two wingwalkers are just visible harnessed to the top of the plane.

The fourth shot shows an on board camera close up of a wingwalker attached to a harness on top of the aircraft. In the background the wide, green expanse of the countryside can be seen.

[David Barrell]

“We choose to use AeroShell Oil because it performs under extreme conditions, much like we do.”

***

A final shot shows two AeroSuperBatics aircrafts accelerating into the sky and fades slowly into a birds-eye view graphic appears showing azure blue waters. Clouds frame the image.

[David Barrell]

“It’s reliable, just like we have to be, and it enables us in our formation to fly above the rest.”

[Text Displays]

Our products - your trust

The aerosuperbatic wingwalking team

With a graphic of the AeroSuperBatics Wingwalkers logo

[Text Displays]

Fly Above the Rest

The image fades and the logos for AeroShell and Shell appear on a white background.